New Insight from Coyote Scat

Every day, no matter where I hike, I find something new of interest. Early this morning Sophie alerted me to the presence of coyote scat on our mountain road. It wasn't much, and without her nose, I would've missed it completely. On closer inspection, I was interested to see that the scat was entirely made of partially digested, unripe, barely reddened blackberries.

Of course I know that coyotes love apples and pears, so it makes sense they'd go for other fruit. But I didn't realize that they'd go so far as to eat hard and sour unripe berries. It doesn't seem likely that they'd be so hungry that they'd go for food they didn't care for. As far as I know, there's been plenty of small animals around for them to eat this summer. So what explains this unsavory meal? I haven't a clue and am still puzzling it out.

It's a Date: Bushwhack up Mount Blue after Labor Day
Hot weather alert for tomorrow and Wednesday, with temperatures here going up to 95 degrees. No excursions are planned. I'll probably end up studying land navigation in my cool living room. I'm planning some mountain bushwhacks for September, the best month for climbing in the Adirondacks.